June 18, 2008
Jason S. Sharp
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5213
jason.s.sharp@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-152
SMITHSONIAN'S FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES NASA'S 50 YEARS
WASHINGTON -- Moon buggies, stardust and space food are a few of the
things visitors will learn about at the "NASA: 50 Years and Beyond"
program during this summer's Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The
program will showcase the role men and women of NASA have played in
broadening the horizons of American science and culture, and the role
they will continue to play in shaping the future through exploration
and stirring the public imagination.
The festival will be held outdoors on the National Mall between 7th
and 14th streets from Wednesday, June 25, through Sunday, June 29,
and Wednesday, July 2, through Sunday, July 6. Admission is free.
Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT each day, with
special 6 p.m. evening events that include concerts and dance
parties. The festival is co-sponsored by the National Park Service.
"The Folklife Festival will be a unique way for more than a million
people to learn more about the history and heritage of our nation's
exploration of space and cutting-edge aeronautics research," said
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale. "With this festival, NASA
celebrates its 50th anniversary, and in the forty-two years of the
annual Folklife Festival, NASA is only the second federal agency
invited to participate. NASA is in the inspiration business, and my
hope is that visitors to our nation's capital will take the
opportunity to learn more about our scientific discoveries of Earth
and space, and the future of exploration with our talented engineers,
scientists and astronauts."
Through hands-on educational activities, demonstrations, narrative
sessions and exhibits, the program will highlight the skills and
specialized knowledge that are uniquely NASA. About 200 NASA
astronomers, astronauts, astrophysicists, educators, engineers and
other experts will engage with visitors to represent a cross-section
of NASA's 80,000 employees, contractors and grantees. The popular,
Web-based "NASA Edge" podcast, as well as NASA TV will be on hand to
report from the festival and conduct live interviews with
participants.
NASA PROGRAMS
The festival program will illustrate the geographic and occupational
diversity of NASA's 10 field centers and inform visitors of the
agency's many past, present and future projects. The topics of space
science, Earth science, aeronautics, human spaceflight and future
projects will be represented at the festival. Space science
participants will be on hand to discuss the collection and analysis
of interstellar dust, robotic missions to Mars and planetary
exploration. Earth science participants will share recent findings
about climate change, weather patterns and satellite imagery.
Since NASA's inception, the agency's employees have conducted
cutting-edge research in traditional aeronautical disciplines and
new, emerging fields to support future air and space vehicles. At the
festival, aeronautics engineers and technicians will share with
visitors the work they are doing on wind tunnel testing and improving
air traffic control.
NASA's most visible mission is human spaceflight. Both current and
former astronauts will share their adventures and experience with
festival visitors. Also on hand will be NASA engineers and scientists
who are building new spaceships that will enable astronauts to return
to the moon by 2020.
BENEFITS TO SOCIETY
Society often benefits from the technological advances of NASA. While,
contrary to popular belief, Tang and Velcro are not NASA inventions,
visitors will learn that many other commercial products and services
in the fields of health, medicine, industry and consumer goods came
from NASA-derived technologies.
Society also has its imaginations stirred by the exploration of space.
Countless painters, sculptors, poets, writers, filmmakers and
musicians have used NASA's work as the basis for their art. Several
of these people who have documented or interpreted NASA's missions
through their art will demonstrate their work at the festival.
FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Younger festival visitors can participate in a variety of hands-on
activities that will illustrate the many different facets of NASA.
Using their "Mission Guide" activities booklet, children can try such
activities as comparing satellite images and studying the impact of
comets. After completing the tasks and determining if they have "the
right stuff," kids will earn a reward.
Visitors to the festival also will have the opportunity to leave
record their memories of and thoughts about NASA, including where
they were during important NASA moments.
FOODWAYS
Daily discussions on creating menus for space, packaging food for
space, and planning for long term missions beyond Earth will showcase
the design of nutritious and appetizing meals for space travelers.
NASA staff also will discuss the challenges and rewards that come
with feeding a multicultural crew on the International Space Station.
NARRATIVE STAGES
Participants from all areas of the program, as well as NASA alumni and
other special guests, will share stories, traditions and memories of
50 years of NASA on the program's two narrative stages, Exploration
and Galaxy.
ALSO AT THE SMITHSONIAN
During the evenings of the festival's first week, the National Museum
of Natural History's Baird Auditorium will feature films relating to
NASA, including "Apollo 13," "In the Shadow of the Moon" and "2001: A
Space Odyssey."
Also on the National Mall, the National Air and Space Museum's
exhibition "Space: A Journey to Our Future" opened June 14. This
exhibition highlights current achievements in space exploration --
satellites, space telescopes, people living in space -- and provides
a glimpse into future human space travel.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will feature three programs. In
addition to "NASA: 50 Years and Beyond," the other programs are
"Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon" and "Texas: A Celebration of
Music, Food and Wine."
The Folklife Festival, inaugurated in 1967, honors people from across
the United States and around the world. With about 1 million visitors
each year, the festival unites presenters and performers in the
nation's capital to celebrate the diversity of cultural traditions.
It is produced by the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural
Heritage. For more information on the Folklife Festival, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/50th/Folklife
and
http://www.folklife.si.edu
For more information on NASA and its programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
-end-